When it was obvious that the cause was hopeless, they surrendered.When it was obvious that the cause was hopeless, they surrendered. Which was a good thing. The incident at Aib had been a sheer accident, a mistake between their mining crews and one of our expeditionary crews in a Mark 454 starcruiser. I was forced to make polite conversation with the young nobleman on my right, who was fascinated by Pendor's medical technologies and wanted to know what sort of exchanges would be made when the economics had been worked out. I replied calmly that, as Vatare', such decisions were not essentially mine to make, and that he should inquire of the ambassadorial staff. He was repeatedly insistent, switching from subject to subject so rapidly he may well have been reading out of an import/export schedule. I sighed, and I heard a slight whisper from behind me. "Maerts can be tiring sometimes, can he not?" "Begging your pardon, M'lady?" I asked, turning to Anni. "I inquired if you were enjoying the dinner." "Fascinating," I said. She smiled, then turned back to her meal. "Vatare'," I heard from the front of the table. "Are you taking kindly to our hospitality? I see you and my girlchild have already met. |